Chaos Witch Quelaag completely freaked me when she reared her creepy head in Dark Souls Remastered. Good luck fighting her if you have arachnophobia. Contrary to her hellish design, she is not a huge threat. Don’t worry; with our detailed guide on the boss, you’ll also feel the same level of confidence when going toe to toe with Quelaag.
Here we have some potent tips to give you an edge, some strategies, revealing her moveset, rewards you unlock, and a diabolical cheese to erase her.
Fighting Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls Remastered
Chaos Witch Quelaag is the mother of all chaos magic in DS Remastered. And she has the looks to boot that claim. Her upper half is a naked lady wielding a blazing sword fused with a lower half that is a giant firey arachnid.
She uses her sword quite often while attacking but most of her lethal hits come from the spider half. This spider is really fond of lava. She likes to spew a ton of lava which remains on the ground for quite some time. This effectively blocks off sections in the arena and makes it harder to dodge. Good thing it disappears after some delay.
Not to mention, she gives a false sense of comfort when you tuck yourself inside/underneath her and deal damage safely. This is when she pulls out her deadliest attacks i.e. her AoE explosions and flamethrowers. These attacks will burn you to a crisp if you get too comfortable attacking her.
However, for a spider, she doesn’t have the same level of scurriness. She is quite slow so you can outmaneuver her in most instances. She also gives you enough openings to deal massive damage. You just need to be aware of her moves and how to exploit them.
Here are some things to consider when facing Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls Remastered:
- Quelaag is completely immune to Fire Damage. This includes pyromancies. Hence, if you are rocking a pyromancy build, it is best to look for other damage sources.
- The Flash Sweat pyromancy will reduce fire damage by 45%, which is extremely handy in this fight.
- She is weak to Lightning Damage. Buff your weapon with the Gold Pine Resin to deal extra damage.
- None of her attacks are parryable.
- If you have dealt with the invader, Maneater Mildred, in the swamp bottom of Blighttown, you can summon her during the boss fight. She will help distract the boss while you focus on outputting damage.
- Her human torso is her weak point. Not only attacking this section will deal double damage with every hit but you can stun her each time effectively canceling her subsequent attacks. It is hard to reach this torso with most weapons so it is best to equip a halberd with vertical strikes like the Great Scythe or Gargoyle’s Halberd to reliably attack her human half.
- You can also use bows/crossbows and other projectiles to attack her human body at range, dealing significant damage from afar.
- Equipping armor and shields like Spider Shield with good fire resistance is paramount during this encounter. Her constant fire/lava attacks will burn you to a crisp if you don’t take this precaution.
Boss Strategy
You need to be careful when you first enter the fog gate. Quelaag can swiftly pounce at you, and if you get stuck in a corner, you’re in deep trouble.
The Chaos Witch Quelaag has several attacks that you’ll need to learn to exploit. The Lava Spew leaves her sides wide open giving you ample opportunity to really lay into her.
Her sword attacks are another great window to deal meaningful damage. If you stay close to her head, either on the left or the right, these attacks will go over you. This is a safe place to be to get in some attacks while she is busy attacking.
Staying close to the boss is risky since she can perform an AoE explosion. It may be harder to spot depending on your location, but when you see her hug her spider head, start rolling away and pray the ensuing blast won’t hit you.
You need to be extra vigilant with your dodging. The lava lingers on the ground and might end up hurting you if you are not careful with your surroundings.
Aside from the explosion danger, her sides are another great spot to deal some damage. She has very few attacks that reach her sides. However, there is a chance of getting trapped between her feet and a rogue explosion will cut your life short.
A cheesy melee way of taking her down; grab a halberd that can do a vertical light attack, like the Great Scythe or Gargoyle’s Halberd, and just keep whacking Quelaag’s human part.
If you aim right, she’ll stagger every time you hit her, messing up whatever she’s trying to do. You can keep doing this to stop her from attacking altogether.
Moveset
Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls Remastered uses all these attacks and how you must react to each:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Fiery Sword Tri-Combo | She brings back her sword and slashes it in front horizontally with fiery extension from one direction to the other followed by another slash from the opposite side ending with a forward sword thrust | Dodge towards the direction the slash is coming from for both the attacks and dodge to any side for the thrust. You can tank it with a good fire shield but it is not advised. Ideally, you can stand under her spider head and keep attacking while she is busy performing this combo and completely bypassingyou. |
| Buring Poke | Charges up her sword for a longer duration and thrusts it forward. The thrust lingers on for a while after the attack | If you are very close to her, just walk to the right side and she will miss. If you are farther then start dodging to the sides or backwards. |
| Spider Stomp | Raises her spider legs and stomps the ground with a small explosion. She can perform it from her front and sides. | The wind up is long so back off when you see her raise her feet. |
| Full-Body Explosion | If you remain too close to her, she grabs her spider body and then roars followed by a huge explosion all around her | Start running away as soon as she hugs her spider or you see her roar |
| Flamethrower AoE | Smashes her abdomen on the ground while spraying flame jest from all over her body | Back off or get burned |
| Leaping Lava Throw | When you are at farther range, she leaps toward you and throws five lava balls at you. The balls will form a lingering lava pool. | She throws a single fireball at you that turns into a lava pool on impact |
| Lava Throw | Throws a single fire ball at you that turns into a lava pool on impact | Can be outrun or out-dodged easily. Make sure to not step on the lava pool |
| Lava Spew | Stands in place and starts spraying lava in an arc. Covers a wide area with lava. | Run to her sides or backside when she begins this attack. It is a good opening to deal significant damage while she is animation locked. |
How to Cheese Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls Remastered
To cheese Quelaag, you just need a bow and a clever spot to snipe her from. An upgraded bow will use fewer arrows, but this strategy works with non-upgraded bows, too. You just need more arrows with a low-level bow.
Stock up on arrows; with a non-upgraded bow, you should carry at least 200 arrows. The number of arrows does go down depending on the arrow type and bow level.
When you enter the arena, stick to the left side and start running to the middle point where the eggs are protruding from the wall. There are several sections between the eggs which you can scale by performing a running jump. You can see my preferred spot in the picture above.
Once you are on top, you’ll the boss is unable to get you. She’ll be stuck in a running animation none of her attacks will hit you.
Now you just need to use the bow and manually aim at the Quelaag’s human torso and pepper her with arrows. Every arrow that hits her body will stun her meaning she can’t find an opening to attack.
Keep puncturing her with arrows until her health melts away. That’s it! You are welcome!
Rewards for Defeating Chaos Witch Quelaag
Squishing Chaos Witch Quelaag will unlock the following rewards in Dark Souls Remastered:
- Soul of Quelaag
- 20,000 souls
- 1x Twin Humanities
For me, Maneater Mildred made the fight against Chaos Witch Quelaag in Dark Souls Remastered so much easier. While Quelaag was busy barbequing Mildred, I stayed behind her and stabbed her to death.
Although her lore does make you sad since she was just protecting her sister. Oh well, The Only Good Bug Is A Dead Bug!